Den Mother
by Libbleslie
Summary: Ricky was never one to belive in aliens. Was is possible? Sure, maybe. But for her there just wasn't any solid evidence If you had told her they were real, she might've humored you anyway. After all there were plenty of believers in the desert she called home. It was only a routine grocery drop to an old acquaintants son, who was to know it would lead to an adventure like this?


Disclaimer: I obviously do not own Voltron, only such orginal characters such as Ricky.

* * *

She pulled up to the ramshackle cabin as the sun broke over the horizon. She jumped out of her truck, snagging the bags of canned goods sitting on the passenger seat as she did. She strode up to the door, adjusting the bags on her wrist and grabbed the door handle, not bothering to knock.  
If he was home he would probably be expecting her. If he wasn't, which was more likely, she'd just go set the bags inside and be on her way.

To her surprise, several teenagers jumped, startled, when she swung the door open. Three unfamiliar teens and a young man who couldn't be much older than a few years past twenty at most stared at her with varying levels of uncertainty. She turned to the boy she had come to see with a teasing smile. "Why Mr Kogane, you do have friends."

The boy blinked at her. "Mrs Redmond, what are you doing here?"  
"It's tuesday, remember?" She lifted the bags for reference before setting them down against the wall. "Did you hear about the meteor their saying passed through last night? I'm surprised you're not all over that,"

The thin, darker skinned boy coughed awkwardly into his fist. "You're kidding, right? That so was not a meteor." He yelped slightly as the shortest one elbowed him in the ribs. "Lance, shut up."  
"What? You think they'd want people to know that Shiros alive."

"Shiro?" She questioned, turning to Keith. "Isn't that the name of the guy you're looking for?"  
"It is. Mrs Redmond, that wasn't a meteor last night." Keith placed his hand on the eldest boy, the one with a long scar running across his nose. "This is the person I told you about."

She gave the young man a once over, "For real? You're the Kerberos pilot? They said you were dead."  
The boy rubbed at the back of his neck, an uncertain smile on his lips. "Uh, no. I'm alive. Or at least I think I am anyway." He offered her his hand, and with a chill she realized it seemed to be made out of metal. "I'm Shiro, as I think you kinda already know."  
She met his hand with a firm shake. "Frederica Redmond. Ricky to my friends."

The boy who had spoken before slid up to the other, tall boy and slung an arm around his shoulder. "Well I'm Lance, and this here is my buddy Hunk."  
"I'm Pidge." The short one chimed.

"All right, introductions made. Now do you mind telling me what's going on? If there's one thing I know about Mr Kogane here is that he's not one for company."  
It was Shiro that answered her, meeting her gaze, eyes serious. "Ma'am, It probably sounds crazy, but aliens exist and they are coming here for a weapon. And we need to find it before they do."  
There was a long moment of silence before she spoke, crossing her arms. "You're right, it does sound crazy. But, I can see the conviction in your eyes so I'll bite, what kind of weapon?"  
Shiros eyes trailed away. "That... That we don't know."

"We do have a lead." Keith interjects. "Hunk, how quickly can you make that frown line tracker?"  
The boy in question jumps slightly. "Huh? Uh I dunno, pretty quickly I guess, depending on what I've got to work with."  
"Good, the sooner you get that together, the sooner we can look for voltron so use what you have to."  
Frederica leaned over to look at the large board on the wall, covered in pictures, notes, and strings as the one named hunk pulled this and that apart. "Whoa, you've really done your research on this, huh?"

"Uh alright, I think I've got everything I need." Hunk says, arm full of wires and parts.  
Frederica straightened, turning to him. "Great, think you can work on the road?"

"Mrs Redmond, people are probably looking for us after last night. It's probably better if you don't get involved." Keith said, voice grave.  
"You kidding? I can't let a bunch of teenagers go galavanting around the desert unsupervised. Besides," She shrugged. "You've piqued my interest. It's not everyday you meet a dead man. My truck might only have two seats, but the bed will be safer to ride in than your vehicle and should fit all of you without slowing it down too much."

Hunk raised a finger in the air. "I vote for using the new ladies truck. It sounds less nauseating." Keiths faced scrunched in disgust and his shoulders sagged with a sigh. "Alright, fine. You not puking does sound better."  
"Alright then, Hunk, you can ride in the front with me so you can work on...whatever it is your making. I'll have the rest of you ride in the bed if you don't mind."  
"You don't know where we're going, though." Keith pointed out.  
"No, But I'm assuming its somewhere is the area you've got circled with the words "Energy source!" in big letters. Point out the spot you want on a map, I'll get us there, don't you worry kiddo."

"Thanks, Mrs Redmond. It means a lot."  
"You can thank me by showing me some new places to camp out." She grinned "Now lets get on the move, yeah? Everybody go load up."

* * *

Frederica let out an enamored gasp as they entered the cave the device that Hunk had made pointed them to. Buried under the dust the walls were covered in carvings from some ancient time.

"What are these?" Shiro questioned.  
"These are the Lion carvings I was telling you about. They're everywhere around here." Keith answered.

Frederica brushed the dust over one of the feline pictures, fingers running along the grooves. "These are amazing, who knows how old these are."  
Lance too wandered up to a wall, brushing away the old grime. "Whoa. Whoa!" He exclaimed as the from the spot he had touched a glowing blue light began to spread, lighting up the carvings, bathing the cave in soft light.  
"They've never done that before." Keith remarks.

The ground sprouted its own glowing cracks and crumbled beneath their feet, sending them all screaming down the new formed hole.

Pain jolted her as she hit a shallow pool of water with the rest of them and she sat up sputtering, quicky to drag herself out of the water.  
As Lance let out a gasp. "They are everywhere."  
Before them, behind a light blue, glowing dome, sat a large mechanical lion painted blue much like the carvings in the cave.

"Is this it?" Pidge questioned. "Is this the Voltron?"  
"It must be." Shiro answered.  
Keith approached it. "This is what's been causing all of this crazy energy out here. Looks like there's a force field around it."

"Does anyone else get the feeling this is staring at them?" Lance asked.  
"No." Shiro said flatly.  
"Yeah, the eyes are totally following me."

"I wonder how we get through this." Keith muttered as Lance strode up beside him. "Maybe you just have to knock." The boy rapped his knuckles against the field.

The field starts to disintegrate as the eyes light up and the ground around the mechanical beast glows with a strange pattern, prompting several of the teens to scream.  
The screaming came to a sudden stop, all of the teens looking as if entranced. Frederica waved her hand in front of Pidges face, startled at the sudden state of her party,

Its Lance that comes too first "Did everyone just see that?  
Hunk jumped excitedly. "Voltron is a robot. Voltron is a huge, huge, awesome robot!"  
"And this thing is only one part of it!" Pidge exclaims. "I wonder where the rest of them are."  
"This is what they're looking for."  
"Incredible."

Frederica looked between them, crossing her arms. "Anyone want to explain what the heck just happened? All of you just checked out of your heads or something for a good twenty seconds."  
"You mean you didn't see that too?" Shiro asks.  
"No, only thing I saw was your faces going blank."

"That's strange, why didn't you-" Shiro is cut off by the giant machine moving, which prompts Pidge and Hunk to scream and cower.  
It lowers it's head, opening it's great metal mouth. A ramp extends from it and Lance wastes no time running headlong into it.

With little else to do, they all follow him in to find him seated in a pilots chair.

The screen in front of him comes to life, showing a perfect view of the cave they had been standing in mere seconds before.  
"All right, very nice!" He croons.

"Okay, guys, I feel the need to point out, just so that we're all, you know, aware. We are in some kind of futuristic alien cat head right now." Hunk rambles.  
"Trippy, ain't it?" Frederica said, "Most exciting thing I thought could happen today was being bit by a bug or somethin'"

"Whoa. Did you guys just hear that?" Lance questions.  
"Hear what?" Keith asks.  
"I-I think it's talking to me. Hmmm... Um..." He leaned over, pressing several buttons on the panel before him. Frederica braced herself against the wall as the robot jerked. Pidge and Hunk screamed as the robot let out a roar."

"Okay. Got it. Now, lets try this." Lance grabbed hold of a pair of handles and pushed them forward and the mechanical beast launched up and forward, bursting through the rock above.

It soared through the air, doing long circles before dropping and bounding wildly over the ground. "Isn't this awesome!" Lance shouted.

Hunk lurched forward. "Make it stop. Make it stop."  
"Kid, I think it's time to stop now!" Frederica exclaimed. "Or else I think you're friend here is going to hurl! Stop!"  
"I'm not making it do anything. It's like it's on autopilot."

"What are you doing?" Keith demanded.  
"I just said it's on autopilot! It says there's an alien ship approaching Earth. I think we're supposed to stop it."  
"There's a what and you want us to do what?!" She shouted.

"What did it say, exactly?" Pidge questioned.  
"Well It's not like it's saying words, more like feeding ideas into my brain, kind of." Lance explained.  
"Well if this thing is the weapon they're coming for, why don't we just, I don't know, give it to them?" Hunk asked. "Maybe they'll leave us alone. Sorry, lion. Nothing personal."  
The others looked to him with unamused faces.

"You don't understand." Shiro says. "These monsters spread like a plague throughout the galaxy, destroying everything in their path. There's no bargaining with them. They won't stop until everything is dead."  
"Oh. Never mind then."

The robot roared again and a collective gasp went through the cabin at the sight on the screen.  
A large ship, bigger than any aircraft carrier floated in the distance ahead of them.

"Holy crow! Is that really an alien ship?" Hunk asked nervously.  
"They've found me." Shiro said quietly.

Without warning thick, glowing beams spring forth from the ship, directly towards the lion. "We've got to get out of here!" Pidge exclaimed.  
"Hold on!" Lance screamed, he pulled wildly at the controls, making the lion twist and turn to avoid the lasers. "All right. Okay, I think I know what to do."  
"Be careful, man. This isn't a simulator." Pidge yelled.  
"That's good, I always wreck in the simulator." Lance laughed.

Lance pulled at the controls and great beam shot forth from the lions mouth, leaving a long, straight line that lagged with explosions. "Lets try this." The robot dove forward between the beams and towards the ship, digging its claws into the hull and twirling across it, leaving a trail of explosions in its wake.

"Nice job, Lance." Shiro praised.  
"Okay, I think it's time to get these guys away from our planet."

"Oh, no!" Hunk whined at the sight on the screens.  
"They're gaining on us." Pidge cried.  
"It's weird." Lance muttered. "They're not trying to shoot at us. They're just chasing."

"Okay, seriously, now we think having aliens following us is good?" Hunk scoffed. "I am not on board with this new direction, guys."  
"Me either!" Ricky groaned.

"Where are we?" Keith questioned.  
"Edge of the solar system." Shiro answered. "There's Kerberos."

"It takes months for our ships to get out this far." Pidge marvelled. "We got here in five seconds.

In the distance with a flash a large, swirling circle appeared, bordered with strange markings.

"What is that?" Hunk asked.  
"It's kinda pretty." Ricky mumbled, tracing the strange pattern with her eyes.  
"Uh, this may sound crazy, but I think the lion wants us to go through there!" Lance said.

"Where does it go?" Pidges voice was small, but the question lingered like an elephant in the room. "I-I don't know." Lance admitted. "Shiro, you're the senior officer here. What should we do?"  
"Whatever is happening, the lion know more than we do. I say we trust it, but we're a team now. We should decide together."

The cabin was silent for what felt like forever before Pidge placed a hand on Lances arm. "All right. Guess we're all ditching class tomorrow."

Frederica couldn't see what controls he had pushed, but the mecha zoomed forward and into the large swirling mass. Colors flashed by in a blur and her stomach flipped painfully, as if she was being shot forward by a carnival ride.

Finally they exited the portal, and on the view screen, a planet that almost resembled earth sat before them.  
"Whoa... That was..." Lance trailed off, and Hunk leaned over the side, vomiting. The bitter smell of bile filling the cabin. "So sorry." He murmured weakly.  
"I'm just surprised it took this long." Pidge muttered.

"I don't recognize any of these constellations. We must be a long, long way from Earth." Shiro comments.  
"The lion seems to want to go to this planet. I think... I think it's going home." All of them leaned forward, trying to glean a better look at the planet.

"Guys, personal space. Hunk, your breath is killing me."  
Hunk leaned away from Lances face and Frederica dug in her bag. "Um, is it just me or is anyone else having second thoughts about flying through a mysterious wormhole? Why are we listening to a robotic lion anyway?"  
"No, you're definitely not alone on that. I was wondering that too. Because whatever is going on, it's bigger than any of us." She held out a small foil wrapped rectangle to Hunk. "Here, have some gum."

"It got us away from that alien warship, didn't it?" Lance retorted  
"I don't know if you've noticed, but we're in an alien warship" Keith said dryly.  
"Oh, are you scared?" Lance taunts.  
"With you at the helm? Terrified."  
"Alright, knock it off." Shiro scolded. "No one's happy to be in this situation, but we're here now. If we want to get through this, we've got to do it together."

"So what do we do?" Pidge asked.  
"First, we find out where we're headed." Shiro answers. "Lance?"  
"I... don't know. I'm sorry. The lions not talking to me anymore." He suddenly jerked in his seat. "Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Shh! Listen. I think I head something."

Sure enough, Frederica noted, there was a small squealing sound... coming from Lances chair. She recoiled tugging the collar of her shirt over her nose at the realization.  
"I'm hearing it, too." Keith confirmed.  
"It's, uh- It's kind of a high pitched squeal?" Hunk mused.

She bit back a laugh as the others came to the same realization. "Come on, Lance!"  
"But seriously, there's a castle up ahead."

All of them marvelled at the large structure they were rapidly approaching. It truly was grand, with a great stone bridge and tall, gleaming spires. The giant mecha landed before the castle, lowering its head and opening it's mouth. With some hesitation, the group disembarked.

"Keep your guard up." Shiro warned.  
"Is something wrong?" Pidge inquired.  
"My crew was captured by aliens once. I'm not going to let it happen again."  
"Right there with you, Shiro." Frederica nodded. "Everybody stick close, okay?"

All of them gasped as the lion closed its mouth and reared up behind them with a loud roar.  
"No, no!" Hunk cried. "I knew it was going to eat us! No!"

But instead of closing it's maw around them, the large doors on the castle lit up began to open.  
"Oh, the door is open." Hunk commented. "Guess I was wrong about you."

They slowly shuffled inside, tense.

"Hello?" Hunk called out, his voice echoing off the walls.  
"From the size of the lion, I expected these steps to be bigger." Pidge muses.

They all froze as a light flashed and each of them was enveloped by a pillar of light as a computerized voice spoke. "Hold for identity scan." Pidge let out a small "What?" and Shiro looked up to the ceiling. "Why are we here? What do you want from us?"

There was no answer from the voice, but the light around them faded, and the lights upon the walls began to light themselves as if on a timer, leading down a long corridor.  
"I guess we're goin that way." Pidge quipped.

"Remember, everybody stay close, absolutely no wandering off, understand?" Ricky warned.  
Lance rolled his eyes "What are we, a bunch of kids?"  
"Is that rhetorical, or do you really want me to answer that?"

They followed the lights as they lit down several long halls and corridors, deeper and deeper into the structure, with Hunk shouting out the occasional hello. Finally the trail of lights ended at a large room, putting an end to their hike.

"Where are we?" Lance questioned.  
"It's... some kind of control room." Pidge answered.

Frederica jumped as two circles in the floor opened, and slowly two strange looking pods began to ascend, a pair of humanoid shapes visible behind the tinted screens. "Are these guys... dead?" Hunk asked nervously.

As if to answer him, the semi opaque lid of the first pod disintegrates, revealing a young woman with dark skin and shockingly white hair. Her eyes snap open before rolling back in her head as she lurched forward. "Father!"  
Lance leapt to catch her. "Hello."  
"Who are you? Where am I?" She questioned, voice weak.  
"I'm Lance, and you're right here in my arms." He answered.

"Your ears." The woman says, sounding surprised.  
"Yeah?"

"They're hideous. What's wrong with them?"

Frederica took a step to the side, blinking in surprise at the woman's ears, which ended in points like one would see on an elf.  
"Nothing's wrong with them!" Lance said defensively. "They heard exactly what you said about them!"

Lance squealed as the woman suddenly spun him around, holding him by the ear. "Who are you? Where is King Alfor? What are you doing in my castle?"  
"A giant blue lion brought us here! That's all we know!"  
"How do you have the blue lion? What happened to it's paladin? What are you all doing here?" The anger slowly drains from her face. "Unless... how long has it been?"

"We don't know what you're talking about." Shiro said calmly. "Why don't you tell us who you are? Maybe we can help?" He offered.  
She released Lance from her grip and straightened. "I am Princess Allura of Planet Altea." She swept past over to the small console in the center of the room and Frederica went to Lance, putting a protective hand over the boys shoulder. "I've got to find out how long we've been asleep." She placed her hand over it, causing a screen to light up.  
Pidge looked up at it curiously. "Okay, that's how that works."

As the self proclaimed princess worked on the console, the other pod began to open. A man with bright orange hair and ears much like the woman's looks out with a doleful gaze before gasping and screaming shrilly. "Enemy combatants!"

He launched himself at Lance, who stepped aside, which nearly sent the man falling to the floor. "Quiznak!" He exclaimed, rising. "You're lucky i have a case of the old "Sleep Chamber Knees" Otherwise, I'd grab you head like this, wrap you up like so-" The man made strange wriggling motions with his arms and hands "And one, two, three-" He snapped his fingers in a grand motion. "Sleepy time!"  
Lance jerked out of Frederica's grasp. "Well, before you did that, I'd" Lance too, made strange motions as the two of them glared daggers at one another. "Like that!"  
"Really?" The man scoffed. "How could you do that when I've already come at you with this?" The man bends his knees into an almost fencing like stance, jabbing out his flattened hand several times.

"Man, these guys are good." Hunk comments.

Frederica took it upon herself to step between them before the embarrassing display escalated any further. She stepped between them, arms wide. "That's enough, both of you!"

The computer beeped, catching everyone's attention. The princess gasped. "It can't be..."  
"What is it?" The man inquired.  
"We've been asleep for ten thousand years. Planet Altea and all of the other planets in our solar system have been destroyed." She answered, eyes wide. "Coran, father is gone. Our entire civilization... Zarkon." The last word drips with venom and Shiro takes a sharp intake of breath. "Zarkon?"

"He was the king of the Galra. A vile creature and enemy to all free people." She explained.  
"I remember now..." Shiro says softly. "I was his prisoner."

The princess looks as if he's slapped her. "He's still alive? Impossible!"  
"I can't explain it, but it's true. He's searching for a super weapon called Voltron."  
Her expression hardened. "He's searching for it because he knows it's the only thing that can defeat him, and that's exactly why we must find it before he does."

After Allura explained further and introductions were made, the man named Coran slipped away, returning with a hovering bowl filled with strange bright green stuff inside it.  
He placed it by the console next to the princess, trying to prompt her to eat it. "Princess, you must eat. It's been ten thousand years."  
"I'm not hungry."

"Man, ten thousand years? That's like one thousand plus ten." Lance mused.  
"That's... times ten." Keith corrects.  
"Whatever, dropout,"

Hunk looked at the bowl wistfully. "I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm starving."  
"Yeah but you've thrown up, like, five ties." Pidge pointed out.  
"Good point."

"I can't believe your civilization created such advanced technology ten thousand years ago. It must have been an incredible place" Shiro said and Hunk dug into the bowl, scooping some of the goop into his mouth, groaning in disgust. Though the foul taste apparently doesn't hinder him.  
"Yes, it was..." The man says softly. "But now it is gone and we're the last Alteans alive." He opened his arms as the Princess turned to him, sobbing quietly into his shoulder.

Suddenly she pulled away and looked into the pod she came out of with a gasp. "Looks like we're not the last, after all." Four small rodents crawl out of the pod, shaking away sleep.

An alarm blared and a screen appeared, showing a large ship much like the one Lance had attacked. "A Galra battleship has set its tracker to us!" Coran exclaimed.  
"How did they find us?" Allura questioned.  
"I'm not sure, but I bet it's Keith's fault." Lance accused.  
"Say whatever you've got to to say to make yourself feel better. After getting us stuck on the other side of a wormhole!"  
"I'll stick you in a wormhole!"  
"Stow it, cadets!" Shiro scolded. "This is no time to place blame. It's time to work as a team." He turned to the pair of aliens. "How long before they arrive?"

"At their speed?" The man held up his fingers, counting on them. "Oh, well, carry the two... I'd say probably a couple of days."  
"Good. Let them come! By the time they get here you will have reformed Voltron, and together, we will destroy Zarkons empire!" Allura declared.

Hunk let out a belch and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry, food goo." His stomach rumbles loudly and he groans.

"Princess, there are five of these lions. How are we going to find the rest?" Shiro questioned.  
Allura stepped onto the platform in the center of the room, and from above was bathed in soft light.  
"King Alfor connected the lions to Allura's lifeforce. She alone is the key to the lions whereabouts." Coran explained.

Frederica gasped in wonder as the room lit up with all manners of stars and planets.  
"These are coordinates." Pidge said. "The Black Lion looks like it's in the same location as the Blue Lion."  
"Look at your primitive synapses firing away in their little brain cage." Coran cooed.  
"Very observant." Allura complimented. "That's because the Black lion is in the castle."  
"To keep the Black lion out of Zarkon's hands, King Alfor locked it in the castle. It can only be freed if the other four lion sare present." Coran explained further.

"As you have found, the lions choose their pilots. It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The Quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his lion. Togehter, they form something greater than science can explain." She looked to Shiro. "The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader and in control at all times, someone whose men will follow without hesitation. This is why, Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion. The Green Lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring. Pidge ,you will pilot the Green Lion. The Blue Lion-" Lance interrupted her. "Hold up, let me guess. Takes the most handsome slash best pilot out of the bunch?"  
Allura ignored his question, continuing with her speech. "... The Yellow Lion is caring and kind. It's pilot is one who puts the needs of others above his own. His heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together. Hunk pointed at himself with an uncertain grunt. "The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master. It's faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable. Its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone. Keith, you will fly the Red Lion-"

"What? This guy?" Lanced whined, but again he's ignored. "Unfortunately, I cannot locate the Red Lions coordinates yet. There must be something wrong with the castle. After Ten Thousand years, it might need some work.  
Coran toyed with his mustache. "Don't worry, we'll find it soon. They don't call me "The Coranic" for nothing." At the silent stares he receives, his inflated posture flattens. "It's because it sounds like "Mechanic" So... Coranic, mechanic. It's not- It doesn't sound... exactly like it. It's similar." Frederica stiffled a chuckled at the man's floundering explanation.

Around the room, miniature robotic lions appeared, and went shooting off towards eachother, joining together until they formed an almost but not entirely man shaped mecha.  
"Once the Lions are united, you will form Voltron, the most powerful warrior ever known, the Defender of the Universe."  
"Wait. Okay, we're going to be in there and flying lions." Hunk said. "Got that part. How do lions turn into legs? Also, is this going to be a long trip? Because I have to pee. Do you people pee?"  
"We don't have much time." Shiro said sternly, turning to the others. "Pidge and I will go after the Green Lion. Lance, you take Hunk and get the Yellow one. Keith, you stay here. If you locate the Red Lion, go get it."

Frederica shook her head to herself. Not quite understanding how Allura could decided that they would pilot the robots. Or if they were even worthy too after knowing them for such a short time.

 _Though I suppose Shiro does radiate leadership, she might be at least right about that one._

"In the meantime," Allura said. "I'll get the castles defenses ready. They'll be sorely needed."  
"I'll ready a pod and load in the coordinates so you can reach the Green Lion." Coran added.

Frederica raised her hand. "What about me? I can't just sit around and do nothing."  
"Why I'm sure we can find a job for you!" Coran said cheerfully. "Er, cant' think of one just yet, but I'm sure we can find one!"  
She leaned against one of the pods. "All right, guess I'll just wait here then." She muttered.

All but Frederica and Keith trickled out of the room, preparing to head out.  
She moved over to the boy, nudging him with her elbow. "So, how are you holding up there, kiddo? You finally found everything you were searching for?"  
"I- I don't know. It's definitely a lot to take in... It's good to have Shiro back though."  
She nodded. "Yeah. He seems like a good guy."  
"He is."

The Princess and the man return, and Allura takes up a position at the center console again and He went to the larger console towards the front of the room.  
Princess is bathed in the soft light and in the distance on large screens that appear upon the windows two wormholes open in the sky.  
"We can only keep the wormholes that lead to the other lions open for two of your Earth hours, so you'll have to be quicky about your work." Coran said. "The good news is that according to my readings, both planets are relatively peaceful. So, If you do get stuck, they could be relaxing places to live out the rest of your lives. Well, enjoy the trip!"

The sounds of protests are cut off as the ship and the lion are each sucked into a worm hole.

"They can't... They can't really get stuck out there, right?" Frederica questioned.  
"Oh I'm sure they can find the lions before their time runs out!" Coran said cheerfully. He flittered about, tinkering with this and that as the princess remained at her post.  
"Coran, I think I've found it, but there's a problem." She announced, and he jumped over to her, leaning in and nodding as she spoke in low tones.

* * *

Shiro and Pidge are the first to return, joyful smiles on their faces. The sign of a successful mission.

Time seemed to pass slowly as she waited for the remaining pair to return. Pacing as the time the wormhole was open drew closer to it's end.  
"They should have been back by now." Frederica muttered. "They must have run into trouble."

Allura opened her eyes, speaking. "Paladins, please hurry back. I can't hold the wormhole much longer."

Frederica let out a sigh of relief as a few moments later two separate lions came forth from the portal. When the pair of teens return to the control room, they look like they've been dragged around by their collars.  
Allura greeted them with a smile. "You made it."  
"Yeah, just barely." Lance scoffed. "That was a nightmare. I almost puked out there. I felt like Hunk!"  
"Think of how I felt. I am Hunk!"  
Pidge grinned sheepishly. "Yeah. We had a tough time too."

Shiro turned to the aliens. "Did we find the Red Lion yet?"  
"Allura just located it." Coran answered. "There's a bit off good news and bad news. The good news is, the Red Lion's nearby. The bad news is, it's on board that Galra ship now orbiting Arus. But wait, good news again. We're Arus!"

"They're here already?"  
"Yes. Guess my calculations were a bit off. Finger counting is..." Coran almost seemed to shrink into his suit. "It's more of an art than a science."

A large screen lit up, and a strange creature with one clearly robotic eye, and one completely yellow one glared down at them. "Princess Alura, this is Commander Sendak of the Galra Empire. I come on behalf of Emperor Zarkon, Lord of the Known Universe. I am here to confiscate the lions. Turn them over to me, or I will destroy your planet." The screen cut off, and Shiro stood straighter. "All right, let's not panic."

"Not panic?" Hunk repeated. "Th-The scary purple alien thing is driving his battleship toward us. We only have four lions."  
"Technically, only three working lions." Pidge adds.  
"That's right. Thank you, Pidge. Three working lions and a castle that's, like, Ten Thousand years old."  
Coran pulled at his lapels proudly. "Actually it's Ten Thousand and Six Hundred years old. You see, it was built by my grandfather-" Hunk shoved a finger over the mans mouth. "Thanks, Coran. Thank you for that. See? Now is the perfect time to panic!"

"Wait!" Allura shouted. "This castle has a particle barrier we can activate.'  
"Girl, you've already activated my par-" "Lance!"  
"The particle barrier won't hold Sendak's ion cannon forever. The Galra technology must have advanced since we fought them last." Coran mused.

"Panic now?" Hunk asked.  
"No. We've just got to figure out our plan of action, and figure it out quickly." Shiro said.  
"I say we pop through a wormhole and live to fight another day." Lance suggested.  
"I second that." Hunk said. "Yes. I mean,, we tried to find all the lions, right? We gave it the old college try. Couldn't do it. We only have three. We can't form Voltron. I guess we could form a snake. Or a worm! To go through that hole, Lance, that you were talking about."  
"Then that's settled." Lance slide up to Allura. "Allura, you ride with me. One of you take the old people." Coran bristled, though whether is was because of being called old or Lances contact with Allura was hard to see.

"We can't just abandon Arus. The Galra will keep destroying planets and capturing prisoners until we stop them." Pidge protested.  
"Okay. If we run, then maybe Sendak will follow us and leave this planet alone, like when we left Earth. We form the snake-worm thingamajig and we-" Hunk made little hissing noises as he waved his hands about. "-Out of here."  
"Sendak could destroy the planet then come after us anyway. Staying is our only option." Said Keith.  
Lance turned to him. "Here's an option: shut your quiznak."

Judging by the looks on the aliens face, Lance had just horribly misused that word.

"I don't think you're using that word correctly."  
"What do you know, Mullet?"

Frederica rubbed at her face at the ensuing argument broke out. A clamor of voices, each trying to shout louder than the others.

"Guys, stop!" Shiro snapped, ending the screaming match. "Princess Allura, these are your lions. You've dealt with the Galra before. You know what we're facing better than any of us. What do you think is the best course of action?"  
The was a long pause before the princess spoke, her voice wavering. "I...I don't know."  
"Perhaps your father could help." Coran offered.  
"My father?"  
Coran nodded and lead the princess away, leaving the group of humans alone.

"Uh, didn't they just make it sound like their king wasn't... well alive?" Frederica questioned. "How can they consult her father if he's gone?" Her question was answered only by a non-committal shrug from Lance.

* * *

When they return, the princesses long hair has been pulled up into a thick bun and She is no longer in a dress, but a mostly white, form fitting suit. "You five paladins were brought here for a reason. The Voltron Lions are meant to be piloted by you and you alone. We must fight and keep fighting until we defeat Zarkon. It is our destiny. Voltron is the universes only hope. We are the universes only hope."

Shiro smiled. "We're with you, princess."  
She beckoned them on, leading them through the castle and to a room with that held five transparent containers, in which several suits of armor hovered in place.

"Your suits of armor." She nodded, and the teens rushed forwards with little words of approval.  
Coran leaned in towards the princess. "Princess, are you sure about this? They aren't exactly the best and brightest the universe has to offer." He whispered.  
"No, but they're all we've got." Allura said, voice firm.

The group slipped into the suits, and Allura waved them over to a long, thin table, which opened to reveal four, not quite triangular objects that floated up from their container and out towards the teens. "The bayard is the traditional weapon of the Paladins of Voltron. It takes a distinct shape for each person.

Hunk let out a gasp and a strained groan as in a flash the object turned into what looked like a large cannon.  
Keith too gasped at the newly formed sword in his hand and Lance let out a small laugh at the gun now in his.  
Pidges seemed to be the only one that didn't change.  
"Aw, you got a cute little bayard." Lance cooed.

He screamed as Pidge touched him with it, shocking him. "Yeah, it is pretty cute."

Allura turned to Shiro, face apologetic. "Shiro ,I'm afraid your bayard was lost with it's Paladin."  
"I guess I'll just have to make do."  
"At least you could whack people with that fancy prosthetic you got there." Frederica offered.

The princess led them back to the control room. "You'll need to retrieve the Red Lion form Sendak's ship." Allura said.  
"That's a pretty big ship." Said Keith. "How are we going to know where the Red Lion is?"  
"Well it's not a matter of "We." It's a matter of "You." Pidge said.  
"Pidge is right," Said Hunk. "Once we get you in, you'll be able to feel its presence and like, track it down."  
"Yeah. You know how you felt that crazy energy while we were in the desert?" Lance asked.  
"Yeah. You made fun of me for that."  
"And I'm proud of that, but turns out it's exactly like that mumbo-jumbo."

Allura spoke again. "Keith, remember, the Red Lion is extremely temperamental. You'll have to earn it's respect."  
"All right. Here's our plan of attack." Shiro waved everyone into close circle. "The Galra empire know about the Blue and Yellow Lion, but they don't know we have the Green Lion, too. Hunk, Lance, you'll act as a decoy by pretending to give yourselves up."

* * *

Frederica leaned against the wall of the control room, fingering the chain around her neck, watching the skies anxiously. She gripped the edge of the window tightly at the faint, but unmistakable signs of explosions, high in the atmosphere.

 _They're just kids, they should be doing this!_

"Particle barrier up!" Allura declared. From outside the windows transparent panels started to rise and form a wall... only to disintegrate.  
Both Coran and Ricky turned to her. "... Is that supposed whats supposed to happen?"  
She shook her head and approached the console Coran stood at. They knelt down and He removed a panel.  
"All the barrier crystals are out of alignment." Coran announced.

"We have to fix it immediately. Without the particle barrier, we'll be defenseless."  
"We're all to big. What can we do?"

The four small rodents scurried across the floor and into the open panel. "The mice!" Allura exclaimed.  
"How do they kno how to do this?" Coran questioned.  
"I can hear them talking to me. I think our minds ou connected. It must be from sharing the sleep pod for Ten Thousand years."

The mice came running out of the panel as the barrier outside the window began to ascend. They climbed atop the console, squeaking and jumping triumphantly. "Thank you, friends."  
Coran put his fingers to his temples, looking strained and making a high pitched noise.  
"Coran," Allura said dryly. "What are you doing?"  
"I'm trying to get them to make me a sandwich."

Frederica rolled her eyes. "Are there any offensive weapons on this thing we can use? Turrets, maybe? Tell me how and I'm sure I can man one. They could use backup out there."  
He straightened "The weapons on the castle were built more for defense than for offense."

There was a beeping as a screen popped up, showing a strange looking vehicle.  
"Is that a pod?" Allura questioned.  
"It looks like it. It's coming straight for the castle."  
"Where did it come from?"  
They were cut off from their wonderings as four lions landed before the castle.

Frederica and Coran stood behind Allura, watching as a small black symbol appeared, and four other similar symbols appeared and connected to the black one.

Allura smiled and Coran cheered, though their jubilance was cut short by a blaring alarm.  
"Oh, quiznak!" Coran groaned.  
"Sendak is entering the Arusian atmosphere. We need Voltron now!"

Smaller ships departed from the mother ship, shooting at the castle with abandon.  
The ground shook as they were hit by a strong blast, causing fire to swirl against the barrier, and Frederica stumbled.  
"The barrier gets weaker with every blast. Once that shield goes down, the castle will be defenseless!" Coran shouted.

Allura spoke over the comms "I can give you cover with the castle defenses for a while, but you have to form Voltron now or we'll all be destroyed."

Another blast, another swirl of fire and smoke.  
"Do you want to tell them how to form Voltron? It looks like they could use that information right about now." Ricky shouted.  
"I'm not sure how to even begin to explain it!" Allura tensed as the castle took another hit. "Quickly, Paladins! Our energy levels are getting low!"

Allura and Coran groaned, and Ricky bit back a curse as another blast rocked the castle and with it went down the barrier.  
"This is not how I pictured I die." Frederica groaned.  
They all gasped as the blast that surely would have ended them was pushed away, hitting the mountains in the distance. A large screen popped up and on it showed a giant metal man with distinctly lion shapedhands and feet.

The giant grabbed hold of and tore off a piece of the Galra ship. It jammed it's arm into it, causing an enormous explosion and sent the remains of the ship falling towards the surface, destroyed.

The three of them raced outside to find the paladins milling about outside the door, looking tired but all in one piece.  
"Good work, Paladins!" The princess praised.

"Thanks pretty lady." Lance panted.  
Shiro took a few steps forward, removing his helmet. "We did it."  
Keith tore off his own helmet. "Heck yeah we did."

Shiro turned to him. "How did we do it?"  
"I was just, like, screaming the whole time." Hunk said, removing his helmet. "Maybe that did it."

Shiro placed a hand on Pidges shoulder. "We're not going to stop searching until we find your brother and father. Whereever they are, I know they'd be proud of you."

Allura clasped her hands in front of her and Coran clasped his behind his back as she spoke. "We won the battle, but the war has only just begun. I'm afraid Zarkon will not stop until he gets these lions."  
"It's a good thing you palaldins know what you're doing." Corans said. "Because you're going to have to form Voltron again and again."

"Totally." Hunk agrees. "Wait, what?"  
Lance leaned forward, incredulous. "We barely survived forming Voltron this one time."  
"And you only had to fight one ship." Coran stepped forward, throwing his arms up for emphasis. "Wait until you have to fight a whole fleet of them!" He stepped back, toying with his mustache. "Its not going to be easy being the defenders of the universe."  
"Defenders of the universe, huh?" Shiro said. "That's got a nice ring to it."

"Now, I do believe we have some guests to attend to." Coran said, bringing attention to the small ship that had landed during the battle.

* * *

Once the group of aliens had been settled, the princesses stomach let loose a growl, and Coran shuffled them all together and led the way to a large room with a long table.

He disspeared as the paladins and the princess sat down, seemingly more relieved at being able to be still than anything.  
When he reappeared, he was followed into the room by a large hovering bowl, a stack of plates balanced on one arm and several utensils held tightly in a gloved fist and a ladle poking out from under his arm.

"Here, let me help." Frederica stood from her chair and snatched the plates from his arm, setting the stack carefully down on the table.  
He almost seemed surprised by the gesture, but he smiled nonetheless "Oh, well thank you."

He set the utensils down as Fredercia began unstacking the plates. She noted that all the untensils were spoons, and as he dipped his ladle into the hovering bowl and dropped its contents onto a plate before passing it to the Princess she understood why. It was the same kind of green stuff he had brought out for the princess earlier.  
She slid each of the teens a spoon across the table as he ladled more of the green stuff onto the other plates.

With everything divied up he grabbed the hovering bowl and cleared his throat. "Right then, I'll go put this away and ready your rooms."  
The princess nodded with small smile. "Thank you, Coran."

Hunk and the princess were the only two to begin eating right away. Even Frederica poked at the goo dubiously, grimacing more at the texture than the taste when she finally brought the spoon to her lips and tried it. It had a surprisingly neutral taste, neither here nor there in flavor... but the texture... the texture could only be described as some sort of unholy mixture of gelatin and mashed potatoes.

She was still cautious about eating something literally alien, but since Hunk had eaten a bowls worth and seemed to suffer no ill effects she deemed it safe enough. She grit her teeth and carried on despite the toe curling texture.

She paused, another spoonful halfway to her mouth as a thought occured to her. "I have a question. You said you were from a planet called Altea, but the one we're on is called Arus. Why would you be living in a castle on another planet?"  
The Princess looked up from her food. "Arus has always been a lovely planet, and it seemed better to have Voltrons base stationed somewhere other than our homeworld, for polictical reasons. Coran knows a bit more about it than I do, however, I wasn't born yet when the caslte was built."  
"I see."

* * *

The meal had been over for a small period of time when Coran returned, announcing that their rooms were ready.

All but the princess stood and followed him down through the halls. He stopped occassionally at different sets of doors, dropping them off one at a time untl there was only Frederica left.  
"Aaand this one is yours." He announced, stopping at another set.  
She nodded as the doors slid open. "Thank you for your hospitality."  
"Oh it's no problem at all. Do try to get some sleep, busy day tomorrow."

"Wait," She stopped him as he turned to leave. "It's Coran, right?"  
He gave a bow with such a flair that might've made a theater major jealous. "Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe, at your service."  
"Frederica Mari Anne Redmond, at yours." She bowed back with a small laugh. "Since it looks like everyone is going to be here together for the forseeable future, I want to make sure I'm not dead weight. If you need help with anything at all, let me know, alright? I might not be an engineer or a rocket scientist, but I'm a quick enough learner and there's got to be something I can do to contribute. Even if it's trivial."  
"I appreciate your offer, and I'll keep it in mind." He smiled. "Now, rest up, early day tomorrow and everyone should get plenty of rest."

He took his leave and she went into the room. It was small, with a bed built into the wall, but it would do. She spotted the change of clothes at the end of the bed- a pair of what looked to be like pajamas.  
She ignored them, opting to first find the light switch and turn the room dark.  
She shuffled over to the bed, throwing back the blanket on it and climbed into bed. She dug in her bag until she found the object she was looking for, holding it close to her chest with one hand.

 _"What sort of mess did we just get dragged into_?"

* * *

Edited 6-22-17


End file.
